← The Daily
The Onion’s Latest Joke: Taking Over Infowars artwork

The Onion’s Latest Joke: Taking Over Infowars

The Daily
22:26
Play episode

Show notes

Last Thursday, the satirical newspaper The Onion started its own version of Infowars, the infamous online hub of misinformation created by Alex Jones. The takeover has been years in the making. After Mr. Jones lost two defamation cases, his assets were put up for auction. The Onion took over Infowars and said it planned to convert the site into a parody of itself. Ben Collins, who is the chief executive of The Onion, and the comedian Tim Heidecker talk about what they plan to do with the newly acquired platform and why they pushed so hard to take control of it.  Guest: Ben Collins, chief executive of The Onion Tim Heidecker, actor and comedian Background reading:  The Onion’s plan to take over Infowars. Photo: Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More from this show

More
  1. The Battle Over Black Representation in the South

    The approach to this year’s midterms has brought two hugely consequential changes to voting for Black Americans: the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and redistricting. In the wak…

    29:35
  2. The Election That Will Define Israel’s Future

    Israelis head to the polls next week. On the ballot is the future of a country that has become isolated on the world stage, because of both its war in Gaza and a growing outcry ove…

    33:52
  3. Is This Economy as Awful as Voters Think? We Ask Our Expert.

    The economy is one of the most important issues for voters in the midterm elections. President Trump has been trying to persuade Americans that they are wrong to be frustrated abou…

    32:29
  4. James Talarico on the Rage Economy, Billionaires and Flipping Texas

    James Talarico is asking Texas to do something it hasn’t done in nearly 40 years: Elect a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. It won’t be easy. It will take a vast coalition of Democrats,…

    35:42
  5. Inside Putin’s Plan to Cripple Ukraine This Winter

    President Trump said he was making an energy deal with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and waiving new sanctions on Moscow. Now, he’s feuding with Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr…

    29:00
  6. Elizabeth Holmes and Nathan Fielder Keep Us Guessing

    The comedian Nathan Fielder came to fame as the creator and host of the Comedy Central series “Nathan for You.” The show followed Fielder as he devised outrageous schemes, ostensib…

    43:39
Now Playing
The Onion’s Latest Joke: Taking Over Infowars — The Daily | Podcast | Josplay Music